ART FUND AND AAMC FOUNDATION HOST JOINT WEBINAR BEYOND STATEMENTS REVISITED EXPLORING STATE OF THE A

ART FUND AND AAMC FOUNDATION HOST JOINT WEBINAR BEYOND STATEMENTS REVISITED EXPLORING STATE OF THE ARTS AND DEAIB TODAY

A Follow-Up to Vital 2020 Program that Attracted Over 4,000 Attendees, Webinar Series will be Live-streamed across three days in June 2023  

April 26, 2023, New York, NY– Art Fund and the AAMC Foundation are honored to produce Beyond Statements Revisited , a follow-up to the 2020 three-part webinar program. Held virtually this June and free and open to the public, the 2023 program will feature three individual sessions seeking to update, unpack, contextualize, and disseminate where the arts community is today and assess how organizations have advanced their commitment to diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.  This program was developed in continuity with the speakers from all three sessions in the 2023 series, with gratitude towards their engagement in helping to shape these conversations,  and is presented by Art Fund and the AAMC Foundation.

Featuring experts in the fields of visual arts, nonprofits, and DEAIB, Beyond Statements Revisited will be held virtually on June 14, 21, and 28, 2023, at 11 AM ET/4 PM GMT. Pre-registration is encouraged, which allows the public to submit a question to the speakers in advance. The program will also be live-streamed on AAMC’s YouTube channel, where videos of the first three sessions are also available.

“At Art Fund, we work with museums, galleries, and historic houses across the UK to make their collections relevant and accessible to all. The support we offer helps them continue and develop the crucial work they are doing to diversify their audiences and workforce. In partnering with AAMC Foundation on this series, we hope to create an international forum for critical discourse and creative practice which will accelerate our urgent and shared aims to make the sector genuinely inclusive, representative, and free of discrimination”, said Rachael Browning, Deputy Director of Programme & Policy, Art Fund.   

Art Fund and the AAMC Foundation have collaborated on a curatorial exchange program between UK and US institutions since 2017.  In 2020, they jointly held a three-part webinar series Beyond Statements as a platform seeking to advance the conversation on structural racism by joining together voices in the US and UK to explore how museums can follow up on the then statements of support with tangible actions to address racial diversity, equity, and inclusive environments. 

Three years later, Beyond Statements Revisited investigates where the arts sector is now, discusses newly established DEAIB roles within institutions and their impact, and opens discourse about current and ongoing studies and research. Speakers in the 2023 series include Sepake Angiama, Artistic Director, Iniva; Rachael Browning, Deputy Director of Programme & Policy, Art Fund; Deborah Cullen-Morales, Program Officer, Arts and Culture Office, Mellon Foundation; Errol Francis, Artistic Director and CEO, Culture&; Charlotte Holmes, National Trust; Ali Jafarey, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead (worforce) in the People and Change Team, V&A; Reyahn King, Consultant, Facilitator and Executive Coach; Mia Locks, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Museums Moving Forward; Monica O. Montgomery, Cultural Consultant + Independent Curator, Co Founder Museum Hue; Tanya Odom, Program Director, Equity and Inclusion, Walton Family Foundation and AAMC & AAMC Foundation Board of Trustees; susan pui san lok, Artist; Sandra Shakespeare, Museum and Heritage Consultant; and Virajita Singh, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

“As part of AAMC Foundation’s ongoing efforts to create an inclusive, equitable, and diverse curatorial field on an international level, the Beyond Statements program was conceived to provide an open forum to address the inequities, bias, and racism in the visual arts as a whole,” noted Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, AAMC & AAMC Foundation. “Three years later, we are honored to once again partner with such amazing speakers and Art Fund.”

This first webinar, on June 14, will advance the 2020 conversation on structural racism by joining together voices in the US and UK to explore how museums and art organizations have advanced, or not, their efforts towards tangible actions to address racial diversity, equity, and inclusive environments. The second session on June 21 will provide a context around newly established DEAIB roles and what those leaders need and see towards being able to have an impact and openly sharing the place of burden imposed often on the individuals in these roles.  Concluding the series, on June 28, the last session will look at new studies, surveys, and analyses, that are investigating the current state of the field, share transparently their findings, and help generate, through their findings, ways forward for a diverse, inclusive, and accessible visual arts community.  

The program is free.  For more information, please click here .

ABOUT AAMC & AAMC FOUNDATION 
The Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) & AAMC Foundation supports, values, and advances the work of nonprofit art curators at all stages of their careers through leadership and connectivity. The organization’s work is grounded on diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging (DEIAB) and seeks to recognize the full breadth of a person’s lived experience, self-identification (gender, ethnic, racial, and ability), and socio-economic background. We are a compelling leader and resource for those who care about the role of curators as agents of change, social impact, and multicultural understanding. Founded in 2001, the Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) today has over 1,500 members from over 500+ institutions in over 40 countries. Artcurators.org 

ABOUT ART FUND 
Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art. It provides millions of pounds every year to help museums to acquire and share works of art across the UK, further the professional development of their curators, and inspire more people to visit and enjoy their public programmes. Art Fund is independently funded, supported by Art Partners, donors, trusts and foundations and the 135,000 members who buy the National Art Pass, who enjoy free or discounted entry to over 850 museums, galleries and historic places, 50% off major exhibitions, and receive Art Quarterly magazine. Art Fund also supports museums through its annual prize, Art Fund Museum of the Year. The winner of Art Fund Museum of the Year 2022 is Horniman Museums & Gardens. www.artfund.org

CONTACT

Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, judith.pineiro@artcurators.org

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